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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28859781">Tongue Tied</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyismymainman/pseuds/buckyismymainman'>buckyismymainman</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Marvel Oneshots [61]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coffee Shops, F/M, Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:22:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,240</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28859781</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyismymainman/pseuds/buckyismymainman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony gets tongue-tied when he’s around you.  Pepper finally convinces him to ask you out on a date.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tony Stark/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Marvel Oneshots [61]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1314041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tongue Tied</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony had never had trouble asking women out on dates before, but when it came to you all bets were off the table.  He didn’t know what it was about you, but every time he saw you working behind the counter of his favorite coffee shop he suddenly became tongue-tied and it was embarrassing.</p>
<p>He had never spoken more than a few words to you, but he still managed to mess those few words up.  You, on the other hand, thought it was cute that the millionaire had trouble talking to you.  That this confident man on TV seemed to be tongue-tied around you and you alone.</p>
<p>You had no idea what it was about you that made him so intimidated, but you liked the way he seemed to blush whenever he said something wrong, or the way he seemed to be mentally berating himself.</p>
<p>Pepper came in one day to pick up his order for him because he had been in his workshop all night and was refusing to leave until he finished his upgrades on his new suit.  She eyed you as you worked and how you reacted to others around you.  You seemed nice enough, but Pepper had seen women throw themselves at Tony before.</p>
<p>Steve came with Tony the next time he came.  Steve observed you and Tony together and he was surprised to see Tony so nervous around you.  In all the years he had known him and had known his father, he had never known the Stark men to get nervous around a woman.</p>
<p>As they left the coffee shop Steve looked at Tony and said, “You should ask her out.  She clearly likes you back.”</p>
<p>Tony shook his head, “There’s something about her that makes me act like I’m fifteen again and have no clue how to talk to girls.”</p>
<p>Steve patted Tony on the back, “Don’t wait too long and blow your change, Tony.  You’ll regret it if you do.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, yeah, leading authority on waiting too long, I got it,” he said before taking a sip of coffee.</p>
<p>Tony headed back to his lab, the thoughts of you still swirling in his head as he tried to upgrade his suits.  He wondered if Steve was right and that he should just ask you out.  He was in the middle of tightening a bolt when Pepper stepped into his workshop.</p>
<p>“Tony,” he looked up at the sound of his name.  “Why are you so worried about this one?”</p>
<p>He glanced at the cup of coffee sitting next to him and knew that she was talking about you.  He shrugged his shoulders in a non-committal manner, “I don’t know, Pep.  There’s just something about her.”</p>
<p>“Is it because she hasn’t thrown herself at you like all the others would have?  Are you afraid that if you do ask her out it will be like all the others?”  Pepper knew that Tony was getting tired of the games and just wanted to have a normal relationship for once in his life.  Someone to look forward to coming home to after a long day of work.  Maybe that could be you and maybe that’s why he was afraid.</p>
<p>“Maybe it is,” he said as he tossed his screwdriver down.  “Maybe I’m afraid this is all an act and she’ll turn out to be like the others who only want me for my money and for the fame that comes with dating Tony Stark, Iron Man, son of Howard Stark, and all that great stuff.”</p>
<p>“But she may not be like that and you’re judging her before you even give her a chance.  You’d rather settle for a fantasy rather than having the actual thing,” Pepper hated seeing Tony like this.  She had been with him for so long now that she just wanted to see him happy.</p>
<p>“At least with a fantasy I won’t get hurt,” he looked up at her, a vulnerable look in his eyes.</p>
<p>She walked over and squeezed his shoulder, “Are you sure about that?”  With that, she turned and left the workshop.  She knew that Tony would need time to work through everything and she wanted to give him the space that he needed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The next morning Tony woke up determined to get this done and over with.  And if it crashed and burned all he had to do was find a new coffee shop to go to.  He pushed the door open but discovered that you weren’t behind the counter.</p>
<p>He deflated a bit, he had worked himself up for nothing.</p>
<p>Walking over to the counter he began ordering his usual when someone stepped up beside him.  “It’s on me Jimmy,” you looked up at Tony and smiled.  You weren’t wearing a uniform today, instead, you were wearing one of your favorite outfits, the one that made you feel confident.  “Hey stranger,” you said.</p>
<p>“Hello,” he responded, his eyes locked onto your face.  You were here, you were on the other side of the counter for once.  “You didn’t have to do that.”</p>
<p>“I wanted to,” you told him.  You nodded your head toward your table, “Do you want to join me?”</p>
<p>“Sure,” Tony said as he grabbed the coffee the barista handed him.  He followed you back to your table and found that you had been on your computer.  “What were you doing?”  He hated the thought of invading your time and interrupting whatever it had been that you were working on.</p>
<p>“Little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Nothing too important if that’s what you were worried about,” you told him.  You could tell he was a bit nervous like he was every time he came in and you were working.  The other girls had never had the same type of interactions with him as you had.</p>
<p>“I actually have something that I want to ask you,” he started.  He scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat, “Would you like to go out with me sometime?”</p>
<p>You had seen this coming but were no less excited that it had finally happened.  “I’d loved to Tony,” you beamed at him.  “I’ve been hoping you would ask me out for the longest time now.  I was gonna leave my number on your cup one time, but I thought that might be a little too cliche.”</p>
<p>He chuckled, “That actually might have helped me out a lot.”</p>
<p>“Well at least you finally worked up the courage to do it, but why were you so nervous?  All the other girls say you never nervous around them.”  You were curious to see what his response would be.</p>
<p>“There’s just something about you that makes me revert back to a teenager,” he played with his cup, smiling to himself.  “I don’t know what it is, to be honest, I just know that you make me nervous.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure you’ll grow out of it,” you teased.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m sure I will,” he smiled at you, already feeling the tension leave his body as the two of you continued to talk until he needed to go.  You gave him your number and he promised to text you later.</p>
<p>As promised he messaged you and set up a date for Friday night.  He promised to take you on the best date you had ever had.  He didn’t lie too, it was the best date that you had ever had.</p>
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